The year of 1982 saw arguably Hugo's greatest performance, though this was for the composite South American Jaguars, rather than Argentina. The Jaguars were touring South Africa in defiance of the Apartheid ban following four home and away tests between the sides in 1980. Against a world class Springbok side, which included the likes of Naas Botha, Rob Louw, Danie Gerber and Ray Mordt, the Jaguars had been hammered 50-18 in the first test. For the second match in Bloemfontein, Hugo instructed his men that their aim was to simply try and restore some pride, but by half time the South Americans believed they could actually win the match. Supported by the famous "Bajeda" scrum which earned valuable territory and possession, Hugo found the form of his life and scored all his side's points in a 21-14 victory. His tally included a full house of scoring methods with a try, a conversion, a drop goal and four penalties. A year later that same scrum inspired Argentina to an 18-3 victory over Australia in Brisbane which included two pushover tries. The series was drawn 1-1 with Hugo scoring 19 points in total. In 1985 fortress Buenos Aires played host to two more remarkable performances both of which were again inspired by Hugo.
The first was a 24-16 victory over France, Argentina's first victory over the Cockerels in sixteen attempts since 1949. The second was a commendable 21-21 draw over Jock Hobbs's All Blacks touring side after the first test had been lost 33-20. With this calibre of result becoming more and more regular, the Pumas were expected to make a real impact in the 1987 World Cup. Unfortunately, the side appeared to have peaked too soon and Argentina's campaign ended in the group stages following defeats by New Zealand and Fiji. However, Hugo did have the honour of leading his country to its first major series win later in the year when touring Australia were defeated 1-0 with one match drawn. Hugo then retired only to make a come back at 38 three years later when Argentina toured the UK. Sadly, there would be no return to the glory days, for although the Pumas only lost narrowly to Ireland, they were hammered 51-0 by England and 49-3 by Scotland. The latter game was Hugo's last, not counting his one off appearance in 1997 against a World XV. He retired with 58 caps for Argentina and the Jaguars and in total scored 590 points in tests, including a world record 28 drop goals. (Jon Collins)
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